Many turning to home security to prevent porch thieves during holiday delivery season

by CNYCentral

Many turning to home security to prevent porch thieves during holiday delivery season (WSTM)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. —

Now that the holiday shopping season is in full swing, that means a lot of online purchases are ending up on doorstops and front porches.

The U.S. Postal Service said it expects to deliver 850 million packages between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. During that time, the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office is reminding customers to be wary of possible porch thieves.

"A lot of times, the thieves will actually follow the delivery trucks around and wait for them to make that delivery and then they'll approach that porch or door and take that package and be gone," Seeber said.

Some people are using technology to help keep their packages safe.

Jason Kollbaum, the manager at electronics store Best Buy, said a lot more people have been coming into the store asking about security cameras.

"The biggest thing people are looking for is just that home security, the ability to have the video and the audio to go along with what's going on around their house when they're not out front," Kollbaum said,

Products like Ring and Nest keep an eye on the front door and let homeowners know someone is there by contacting their cell phone, even when they're out of the house.

"We're hearing stories all the time about how people like to interact with the safety of their homes, see what's arriving , seeing that their UPS, their FedEx is dropped off in the right spot, that their package has arrived and coordinate someone getting home to pick up the package," Kollbaum said.

It always helps to plan ahead when expecting a package, but cameras help provide some extra peace of mind, and evidence to help law enforcement catch criminals.

"We tell people to consider installing a security camera system. The Ring, the Nest cam. These are things that we rely on for that video coverage to help us identify the thief," Seeber said.

Authorities said requesting a signature upon delivery is also another way to avoid stolen packages.